In today’s economic climate, many of the city’s co-ops and condos have begun to feel the pinch as they struggle to pay their bills. Often, buildings are forced to raise maintenance fees to make ends meet. And while maintenance fees or sp…

Real estate in the Big Apple like any large metropolis is expensive, and that often means making due with a small apartment. Small spaces present many functional and aesthetic problems—lack of storage, oppressive walls, etc. Fortunately,…

Like telling kids the awful truth about Santa Claus or deciding to spend the holiday bonus on treasury bonds instead of a trip to the Bahamas, sometimes we all have to say or do unpleasant or unpopular things. The same is true for co-op …

Nowadays people are using their computers to connect to the Internet for just about every facet of their lives. Whether it’s buying cheap airline tickets, making reservations at their favorite restaurant or connecting with old friends on…

Any relationship depends upon effective communication to function properly. In a co-op or condo, the relationship between the board and managing agent, or between the board and the shareholders, all have boundaries regarding what is acce…

Most co-op and condo boards that hire managing agents, rather than manage themselves with in-house staff, are reasonably satisfied with them. After all, the managers are presumably trained and experienced professionals. But now and …

Until recently, Claudia Tracey worked full time in a position that required an extensive amount of travel. At the same time she was, and still is, board president at Hampton Vistas Condominiums in Manorville, New York, which just went th…

Q I have a neighbor whose door is just across from mine and whenever she enters her apartment, she closes her door with a very loud bang. Sometimes, I am asleep and I wake up and can’t go back to sleep. This has been going on for year…

Q I recently received a memo from the board of directors of my co-op in Queens Village, stating that the building will not allow cooperators to sell their apartments below a sales price that they determine. Is this legal? —Suspicious…

Q I am a shareholder in a Westchester County 73-unit cooperative, two of which are commercial units generating approximately two percent of the co-op’s income. The president of our five-member board of directors has been president for o…